ATI Sunpower powder coated

Centerline · Mar 3, 2017

I thought some of you might dig this. I scored a 8 bulb ATI Sunpower to go on a new tank with a black stand. Wasn't feeling the brushed silver finish so I powder coated it matt black. I have 3 big ovens for my business and let my employees do their own stuff all the time so I thought "why not". Hope you like it! Just need to grab some stainless screws and power coat them to finish.

Rich Kapoor · Mar 3, 2017

wow.. that looks sweet...

now i want mine done the same way lol

jlanger · Mar 3, 2017

I like it!
I've been contemplating on switching to an ATI fixture over my soft coral tank, but the silver color just doesn't match my design. If I do switch over, I just may follow your lead and get it powder coated in black.
It looks really sharp!

Centerline · Mar 3, 2017

jlanger said:
I like it!
I've been contemplating on switching to an ATI fixture over my soft coral tank, but the silver color just doesn't match my design. If I do switch over, I just may follow your lead and get it powder coated in black.
It looks really sharp!

Yea Man, took about 10 minutes to pull apart. My guess is that it would cost about 50 - 100 bucks if you brought the body to a local shop as there was really no prep work aside from getting the ATI sticker off and wiping down with acetone.

Hbreef · Mar 4, 2017

Pretty sweet dude!!!

reefwiser · Mar 4, 2017

ATI needs to make more color options for their fixtures.

Fin · Mar 4, 2017

I was wondering if this was possible. I didn't know how much trouble it would be to get that cover off. A VAST improvement over the silver fixture! Well done!

JMM744 · Mar 4, 2017

I really like that finish. I plan on doing that to my 3 ft. 8 bulb unit. My only hesitation is that it might be difficult to take apart. If 10 minutes sees it done I am all in. Thanks for posting it up.

Centerline · Mar 4, 2017

Hbreef said:
Pretty sweet dude!!!

Thanks Man!

nitro · Mar 4, 2017

Nicely done, and it will help get rid of some heat also..

Centerline · Mar 4, 2017

reefwiser said:
ATI needs to make more color options for their fixtures.

Ya, they really do. I was also a little surprised when I pulled the fixture apart. There is a galvanized tray that the end caps, ballasts, wiring etc. is attached to. The body and end caps attach to the tray by what I *think* are 10-32 screws. All and all fairly stiff once assembled. This works fine but its not at all how I would have built a product that retails for $899. I don't want to bash ATI but I would have liked to see a little more thought put into the engineering.

Centerline · Mar 4, 2017

Fin said:
I was wondering if this was possible. I didn't know how much trouble it would be to get that cover off. A VAST improvement over the silver fixture! Well done!

Thanks, really no trouble at all. Came right apart.

Centerline · Mar 4, 2017

JMM744 said:
I really like that finish. I plan on doing that to my 3 ft. 8 bulb unit. My only hesitation is that it might be difficult to take apart. If 10 minutes sees it done I am all in. Thanks for posting it up.

It will take you 5 to pull it apart and 10 to put it back together. Very easy.

saltyfilmfolks · Mar 4, 2017

Yea, thats just cool..

Centerline · Mar 4, 2017

nitro said:
Nicely done, and it will help get rid of some heat also..

Thanks and yes it should. I have a dozen or so fans from a bunch of Dell servers that are controllable, high speed and whisper quiet. I'm planning on replacing the three fans on top. Not bad fans but I may be able to do a little better. Next week I'm going to mill a couple of 25 x 25 mm heat sinks with a cooling channel to place over the vent holes above the "labeled" endcap side of the tray and punch a set of cooling holes on the far side of the tray and add a cooling rail there as well. I have several 20mm 5v fans and will attach those to the new heat sink so that I have continuous active cooling rather than just the holes above the end cap. Its my understanding that using the dimming feature greatly reduces the life of the bulbs and of course this has to be from the heat generated. Hopefully this will be a workable solution.

Centerline · Mar 4, 2017

saltyfilmfolks said:
Yea, thats just cool..

Not as cool as its going to be

saltyfilmfolks · Mar 4, 2017

Centerline said:
Thanks and yes it should. I have a dozen or so fans from a bunch of Dell servers that are controllable, high speed and whisper quiet. I'm planning on replacing the three fans on top. Not bad fans but I may be able to do a little better. Next week I'm going to mill a couple of 25 x 25 mm heat sinks with a cooling channel to place over the vent holes above the "labeled" endcap side of the tray and punch a set of cooling holes on the far side of the tray and add a cooling rail there as well. I have several 20mm 5v fans and will attach those to the new heat sink so that I have continuous active cooling rather than just the holes above the end cap. Its my understanding that using the dimming feature greatly reduces the life of the bulbs and of course this has to be from the heat generated. Hopefully this will be a workable solution.

A few of us disagree with ati on the dimming thing, were guys who change tubes for a living, and they haven't really explained their take on it in depth.
One thing to consider though in cooling, a bulb does actually NEED to reach a certain temperature to operate most efficiently. In a convo I had with ati thier temp was 180 in the fixture.

Centerline · Mar 4, 2017

saltyfilmfolks said:
A few of us disagree with ati on the dimming thing, were guys who change tubes for a living, and they haven't really explained their take on it in depth.
One thing to consider though in cooling, a bulb does actually NEED to reach a certain temperature to operate most efficiently. In a convo I had with ati thier temp was 180 in the fixture.

It may be best for me to do just the "label" side first and see what happens. I have an Arduino and two temperature probes but I may score a few more so that I can gather batter sampling telemetry. 180 is the target point?

saltyfilmfolks · Mar 4, 2017

Centerline said:
. 180 is the target point?

That's what was quoted to me yes. We didn't have the awesome bookmarks at the time.

reefwiser · Mar 4, 2017

The reason that dimming reduces the life of the bulb is that there is a change in the voltage on the filament. Bulbs require a certain amount of voltage to strike an arch from cathode to cathode. An this causes the cathode of the tube to wear down more over time than the basic on/off of a florescent bulb.